Cynosure Group LLC Takes Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Cynosure Group LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 2,490 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $648,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. North Dakota State Investment Board boosted its stake in Valero Energy by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board now owns 9,039 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,354,000 after buying an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Valero Energy during the second quarter worth $608,000. Investment Research Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the second quarter valued at $273,000. 71 West Capital Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 47.3% during the second quarter. 71 West Capital Partners now owns 3,144 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $819,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010 shares during the period. Finally, McAdam LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $294,000. Institutional investors own 78.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $350.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $259.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Valero Energy from $338.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $289.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Valero Energy from $279.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Valero Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valero Energy

In related news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total value of $2,011,275.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares in the company, valued at $5,294,212.14. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Valero Energy Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of VLO opened at $341.36 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $283.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $247.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.29 billion, a PE ratio of 14.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55. Valero Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $135.01 and a 12-month high of $346.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.11 by $2.43. The firm had revenue of $44.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.47 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 26.74% and a net margin of 5.17%.The company’s revenue was up 48.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.28 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Valero Energy’s payout ratio is currently 19.92%.

Valero Energy Company Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texas–based integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The company’s operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.